Iowa: I believe the "I told you soes" about Dean's negative style are partly overblown, especially given how far it got him and how it benefits the party as a whole on some level. Furthermore, it is not like the winner, John "Comeback Kid" Kerry was not negative. He won on experience, message, and winnability. A significant part of this was "Dean doesn't have the experience, can't win, and has a bad message." [Slightly change the wording, and you can also fill in "Bush."] Attacks on Dean from loser Gephardt, future loser Lieberman, the media, et. al. also helped. All the same, yes, Dean needs to tweak his message in part because he has other positive qualities that can do be put to good use. If nothing else, Iowa might be a good learning experience for him. Those foaming out of the mouth against him or for Kerry [endorsed by Dukakis! he's a lock now!] are tiring, but I rather see Kerry's hangdog face on my AOL News page than Michael Jackson any day!

Meanwhile, legitimate concerns about experience (his vote on the war hurts some, but isn't too far different from Kerry to matter too much in the end) aside, Edwards is getting some "hmmm" looks. That whopping one percent statewide Kucinich got suggests their Iowa partnership idea didn't work too much, but does suggest how he can attract supporters of other candidates. If you don't like Dean or Clark, he might very attract you more (largely for his enthusiasm, partly his populist message, and maybe even for his relatively short time in politics) than Kerry. He also is from the South, so it's harder to tar him as a "Northeastern liberal." Anyway, I might have been too hasty yesterday in saying I want the also rans gone, since they do have their roles to play. Still, Sharpton's role is not very productive, is it?

State of the Union: James Carville had a good line about the President being one of the most entitled men out there and running a candy store for the country in his cheery "don't you want all this candy" sort of way. Rush the 9/11 panel trying to find out what really happened? Oh well, you didn't want to know the exact state of the union, did you? One of you viewers of my humble blog did come here via this search: "nicole kidman + nude + free + pictures + cold mountain." We here at Joe's Eclectic Thoughts try to be as eclectic as possible, providing the information the country wants. Like belly dancing enjoyed by naked mole rats.

Salt of the Earth: It was a pleasant day today as I tried to avoid more ice than experienced by your average hockey player. My neighbors are not typical viewers of my blog, but I do wish y'all have more of a passing involvement with salt. Fantastic resource, so valuable in ancient times that it was often given as pay ("salary"), and useful to cover up the blandness of frozen food products. Seriously, a couple years ago I slipped on the damn stuff (a half block away from my place) and was sore for over a week. A while back, a relative broke a leg, and it never fully healed. The stuff can be dangerous ... it's fun and all, lovely to look at, but careful now, ok?